O Come All Ye Faithful
by jackiechica
Summary: The kindergarten class is having a Christmas pageant, and Ken wants a good part like Sam had. But he stutters! What will he do? A little bit of Kenkari. Happy Holidays!


O COME ALL YE FAITHFUL  
  
  
  
The auditorium was decorated in red and green streamers and balloons. Potted poinsettias lined the edge of the stage. All the seats had Christmas cards taped to the back. It was a picture-perfect image for the setting of a kindergarten Christmas pageant.  
  
Mrs. Lakousha held one finger of her left hand to her lips, and two on her right in the air, bringing her twelve hyperactive five-year-olds to silence. "Okay, the auditorium is all decorated. Now we're going to decide who's going to have what part next Saturday. Does that sound fun?" All the children nodded excitedly.  
  
Except one. Little Ken Ichijouji pouted out his lip a little, and stared at his feet. His older brother, Osamu, had gotten the lead speaking role when he did the show. But Ken had a little speaking voice (and a slight stutter), so he knew that he would never get the good parts like him. A little girl, Hikari Kamiya, noticed him looking sad, and walked over to him when the auditions started. "What's wrong? Don't you want to be in the show?"  
  
"I d-do," said Ken shyly, "but I know I w-won't get the good p-parts. Just list-ten to m-me!" Kari just smiled and put a small hand on his shoulder. "You don't have to talk. I wanna be one of the dancing angels. Why don't you try that?"  
  
When the teacher called for auditions for the dancing angels and reindeer, Kari took Ken's hand and drug him up to the stage. Ken was a little embarrassed, and more than a little worried about getting cooties. TK Ishida, the coolest kid in class, snickered, making Ken blush. But he let her drag him onstage. He pranced, and jumped, and walked in step, and spun until he was out of breath. The teacher announced the names of the dancers.  
  
Ken wasn't one of them.  
  
Out of breath and heartbroken, Ken drug his feet towards the seats. "Wait a second, Ken," called the teacher. "I want to talk to you." He wiped the single tear he had allowed himself to cry off his cheek and turned to face Mrs. Lakousha. "Why didn't you try out for a speaking part? You're very good at memorizing things."  
  
Ken sucked in a breath. "I didn't try out for a speaking part *pant* because I stutter. *pant* Can't you hear it?"  
  
"Not just then I couldn't." The teacher smiled.  
  
"Oh, it's because I'm out of breath." said Ken. "Once I *pant* catch it again, I'll be back to *pant* doing it."  
  
Kari, who had been listening, suddenly got an idea. She ran over to Mrs. Lakousha and whispered something in her ear, then into Ken's ear. Ken wasn't too sure of her plan, but the teacher and Kari assured him that it would work out great.  
  
Like everyone else, Ken walked out with a script and a costume pattern.  
  
~*~Next Saturday~*~  
  
The Kamiyas, Ichijoujis, Ishidas, and all the other parents filed into the elementary school auditorium. While the parents were busy finding their youngest child's cards on the seats, the older brothers Sam, Tai, and Matt went to go play in the lobby. But when the lights dimmed, everyone quietly made their way to the seats.  
  
Backstage, Ken was tugging on his shepard headpiece. He was more nervous than he had ever been before, and the show hadn't even started yet. A small hand touched his shoulder, and he jumped and spun. It was Kari, dressed in a little angel costume with white ballet slippers. Gosh, Ken thought, if I didn't know about cooties, I'd think she looked nice. "Are you ready?" she giggled. Ken shook his head no. "I d-don't know why y-you even said anything-g. Listen t-to m-me. I'm w-worse than n-normal!" Kari put her hand over his mouth. "Just take deep breathes, and concentrate. Remember what Mrs. Lakousha said; you'll do great." Just then, the angels were on, and Kari skipped onstage with a thumbs-up in Ken's direction.  
  
After the angels, there was a little pageant with Santa and his reindeer. TK's beard was too loose and kept falling off, but otherwise the number went great. TK said his lines, and ran offstage in the cardboard sleigh. He high-fived Ken as he went to get a sip of water.  
  
Uh oh. I'm on. Ken swallowed his heart back into his chest and walked onto the dark stage, along with three sheep. The manger was set on one side of the stage, and the angels on the other. Ken walked to downstage center, took a big breath, and the lights went up.  
  
Piano music played for a few seconds, and then.  
  
"Oh come, all ye Faithful, joyful and triumphant."  
  
Wow, thought Ken, she was right. The way you breathe when you sing keeps you from stuttering!  
  
".Oh come, ye, oh Come, ye, to Bethlehem!"  
  
In the audience, Ken's parents and Sam smiled from ear to ear, beaming with pride. Mrs. Ichijouji snapped a photo, while his dad held the camcorder.  
  
"Come and behold him, Born the King of Angels."  
  
Kari twirled with the rest of the angels, but kept her eyes on Ken as long as physically possible. Boy, he has a pretty voice.for a boy. She thought.  
  
"Oh come let us adore him, oh come let us adore him."  
  
Even TK had to smile offstage. Maybe he's not as dorky as I thought.maybe we'll even be friends someday!  
  
"Oh come let us adore him: Christ the Lord!"  
  
As he finished, the auditorium seemed to explode with applause. Ken even got a standing ovation from his parents. But more importantly to Ken, Sam was standing with them, clapping and smiling. Ken had made Sam happy!  
  
After the show, Ken slipped out of his robe and back into his white polo shirt. Once again, a small (rather cold, or so Ken thought) hand touched his bare shoulder, and Ken jumped once again. "Kari, you've gotta stop d-doing that!"  
  
Kari just giggled and fixed Ken's collar. "I just wanted to tell you that you did okay out there. Umm.bye!" She looked around, then gave him a quick kiss on the cheek before running off.  
  
Automatically, Ken reached up to wipe off the contaminated area, but stopped himself. I guess that wasn't too bad. She seems too nice to have cooties.  
  
Just then, Sam and his friends came backstage. Sam ruffled his little brother's dark hair, and said "Hey, you're alright!" before catching up to Tai and Matt. And that small, hurried action made Ken's day.  
  
"Maybe I'll s-sing next year, t-too!" he said quietly.  
  
Unfortunately, Sam died shortly afterwards, and Ken forgot all about his singing abilities and became the Digimon Kaiser.  
  
~*~16 Years Later~*~  
  
Ken stood onstage in a big theatre on Broadway, talking to some actors from the show he had just seen with his fiancée, Kari. (A/N- had you fooled for a while, didn't I?) It was a week before Christmas, and everything in the theatre was festively decorated.  
  
As Ken and Kari left the theatre, Ken suddenly did something he didn't usually do-he started humming. Not a song from the show, not one of the songs playing on the radio, but a simple hymn.  
  
O Come All Ye Faithful.  
  
"Ken, you've got such a pretty voice. Can you sing it for me?" Kari begged sweetly, taking his hand. He smiled at the touch of the tiny hand, and quietly, reluctantly, began singing for the first time in sixteen years.  
  
~*~The End~*~  
  
For some strange reason (possibly the Christmas spirit), I felt like writing this little story. I wish all of my readers and their family and friends a happy holiday season, and many good wishes for the New Year! (And, in the spirit of the holiday season, please give me the gift of your opinion.R&R please!) 


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